Sailor injured in melee outside Bath bar

BATH, Maine — A weekend barside brawl in Bath, which police said pitted locals against Navy sailors and involved as many as 60 people, ended with one man under arrest and another hospitalized with a serious injury.

Zachary Sewall, 24, of West Bath was charged with aggravated assault after a Bath police officer allegedly saw him punch a Navy man who was walking away from him. The victim, a 27-year-old sailor assigned to the destroyer USS Spruance — docked at nearby Bath Iron Works — reportedly was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland for treatment of a serious head injury.

“[A responding officer] could see this Navy fellow walking away from Mr. Sewall, and he saw [Sewall allegedly] punch him,” Bath police Lt. Stan Cielinski told The Times Record on Monday. “He could hear [the victim’s] head hit the ground even above all the noise, so right away he knew he hit the ground really hard. He called up emergency responders immediately.”

The attack allegedly occurred just after 1 a.m. Sunday in the midst of a chaotic melee outside the Riverside Sports Pub on Washington Street. Cielinski told The Times Record on Monday that charges could be forthcoming for more people who took part in the fight as police continue to gather evidence.

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“It was between locals and Navy, but we’re still trying to sort through the facts,” Cielinski said. “We’re still trying to piece together what started this fracas. These bar fights, where everybody’s been drinking, can be difficult. Everybody has a different perspective, and trying to weed through it all can be challenging.”

According to a news release issued Monday by Bath Police Chief Michael Field, Sgt. Michael Lathrop first “observed a large group of people pushing and shoving each other” when he drove by the bar just before 1 a.m. Sunday. Lathrop then called for additional officers at the scene to help disperse the combatants.

Officer Brett McIntire was among those to respond, and he allegedly witnessed the attack that drew the charges.

Zachary Sewall was booked at the Bath police station and is being held at the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. Sewall’s bail was set at $5,000 cash or $10,000 surety.